454 Haworth—Stratigraphy of the Kansas Coal Measures. 
can only say it lies below these several depths at the respective 
places. To the northwest it was reached at Neodesha 135 
feet below sea level, at Fredonia 310 feet, and at Fall River 
430 feet below sea level, giving a little less than a twenty- 
foot decline to the northwest. At Osage Mission, thirty 
nine miles from Galena, a well 700 feet deep failed to 
reach it. At Chanute, fifty-eight miles away, it was reacned 86 
feet below sea level, and at a few other points in that vicinity 
at similar depths. The decline from Galena to Chanute, 
straight northwest, is consequently about sixteen feet to the 
mile, considerably less than in a more westerly direction. 
Northward along the east line of the state it was reached at 
Girard 493 feet above sea level, at Fort Scott 385 feet above 
sea level, at Pleasanton 206 feet above sea level, at Paola* 182 
feet below sea level, at Kansas City at sea level, and at Leaven- 
worth over 300 feet below sea level. A well 1638 feet deep, 
or about 775 feet below sea level, at Topeka failed to reach it. 
The inclination from Galena to Kansas City is, therefore, only 
about 6°5 feet to the mile. But as the southeastern boundary 
of the Coal Measures is a line running northeast and south- 
west, the latter points should be reckoned not from Galena, but 
from the nearest points of surface exposure of the Mississippian. 
According to the geological map of Missouri published by 
Winslow,+ the Mississippian occupies the surface at Sweet 
Springs and a few miles to the west, bringing it to within 50 
miles or less of Kansas City. Reckoning in this way, we have 
a decline of the floor from near Sweet Springs to Kansas City 
of about 15 feet to the mile, and to Topeka about 14 feet, how 
much more we cannot say, which is considerably less than the 
decline along the southern line of the state. From the above 
data we can calculate the decline in any direction. From 
Kansas City to the southwest we find almost a level in the 
floor towards Chanute and Cherryvale. 
From these and other similar data we may conclude that the 
Mississippian formation underlies all or nearly all of the Coal 
Measures in Kansas, and that its upper surface is strongly 
inclined westward, equaling 20 feet to the mile for the first fifty 
miles along the south line of the state, and at least 10 feet to 
the mile for the whole distance to Wichita, and probably more, 
while to the north as far as Kansas City the inclination aver- 
ages only about 6°5 feet to the mile, and an intermediate value 
in intermediate directions. According to Winslow,{ in a direc- 
* A little doubt has been expressed regarding the correctness of this well record: 
The record used is preserved in the City Public Library at Paola. The criticism 
is to the effect that the Mississippian comes about 200 feet nearer the surface, 
which would correspond better with its depth at Pleasanton and Kansas City. 
+ Preliminary Report on Coal, 1891, and succeeding volumes. 
t Ibid, p. 24 
e 
